Another beauty : CHAMBA

Today we are going to talk about a beautiful destination called Chamba. Blessed with some of the most spectacular and beautiful landscapes anywhere, it is a travellers paradise. In the higher reaches of the Ravi Valley, just 56 km from Dalhousie, Chamba is perched on a little plateau about 100 m above the river. The capital of an ancient kingdom, Chamba was founded in 920 AD by Raja Sahil Varma who named it after his favorite daughter Champavati. Regarding climate, Chamba is 726m. above sea level. The maximum temperature of Chamba town in summer is around 36 Celsius. Winter temperature comes down to almost OoC. Heavy woollens are required in winter and light woollens or tropical clothes in summer.

There are lot of places which we can see in Chamba . Here are few of them :-

• Lakshminarayanan Temple :-

In a group are six ancient temples carved in stone, with tall vimanas. Dedicated to both Shiva and Vishnu, they were built around the 8th century AD. The Lakshminarayan Temple, the oldest in this group, is richly ornamented.

• Chamunda Devi Temple:-
  

Just 1 km from the Chaugan is a temple overlooking the river, Dedicated to the goddess Chamunda Devi, the temple is embellished with fine wood carving.

• Hari Rai Temple :-

This 11th century temple located near the Chaugan, has an exquisite bronze image of the Chaturmurti – the four armed Vishnu, enshrined in the sanctum.

• Maharaja’s Palace :-

This palace belongs to the erstwhile rulers of Chamba and the most outstanding buildings in the town. Of these, Rang Mahal or ‘the Painted Palace’, with towers on either side, is undoubtedly the most interesting one. There is one room in the building, the walls of which are painted with murals depicting episodes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

• There are certain famous fairs and festivals of Chamba :-

Chamba’s annual Suhi Mata Festival, which lasts for four days in early April, commemorates Rani Champavati, the wife of the 10th century Raja Sahil Verma. Only women and children participate in the festival, dancing on the Chowgan before processing with an image of Champavati and banners of the Rajput solar emblem to the Suhi Mata temple. Manjar Fair is a week long festival of singing and dancing at the start of August to celebrate the growth of maize. The Manimahesh Yatra to the sacred tarn of Manimahesh is held immediately after the festival of Janamashtmi. Chrewal, Badronjo or Patroru is a festival of fire and flowers and a time for purification of the fields during the month of August. In same month several places in Chamba celebrates the Gugga fair, which is connected with the worship of ‘Gugga’, the Nag Devta.

I think its not enough right ……….

A journey experience to Lahaul

Lets talk about the geographic conditions of Lahaul:-

The valley of Lahaul is situated to the south of Ladakh. For this very reason this place derived its name “Lho-Yul” meaning “Southern Country”. To its south is situated the beautiful valley of Kullu across the Rohtang Pass (3195Mtrs) and the Bara Bangahal (Kangra) across the “Asakh” pass (5051Mtrs) . Its western boundaries touch the Pangi and Churah areas of Distt. Chamba. To its north situated the valleys of Zanskar and Ladakh across Shingola (5090 Mtrs) and Baralacha la (5450 Mtrs) respectively. Its eastern and south eastern boundaries coincide with those of Spiti and Western Tibet across the Kunzom Pass (4500 Mtrs).

Now, these are the interesting places to visit in Lahaul. A brief description below :-

Rohtang Pass

Rohtang pass (altitude 13050 feet) separates Kullu, from the exotic charm of the Lahaul valley. In Tibetan Rohtang means “a heap of dead bodies” and the pass stands true to its notorious name. Every year it must take toll of life and property. This is so because after 11 A.M. sudden blizzerds and snow storms called Biannas are only to be expected.

At the highest point on top to the right as one faces Lahaul, is a small stone enclosure and a water spring which is the principal source of the river Beas; .the other, Beas kund is at the head of the Solang nullah. The place gained religious significance because of sojourn of Beas Rishi (the famous Vyasa Rishi, author of the epic Mahabharata.

 To the left of this pass is the little lake Sarkund. On the 20th Bhadon (early September) every year a large number of people visit this lake with the belief and hope that an early morning bath in it will cure all their ailments.

KHOKSAR :-

Khoksar is the first village and gate way to Lahaul. This village is situated at an altitude of 3140 m. on the right bank of the river Chandra. There is habitation on the left bank also. H.P.P.W.D. rest house and Serai are on the left bank. Khoksar remains covered under snow during winters. This village is surrounded by high mountains and is avalanche-prone. Avalanches can be seen piled up even near the river bed. During winters Khoksar is the coldest inhabited place in Lahaul. The river freezes during winters and is covered with snow to afford regular passage for human beings as also for mule traffic. Just five kms ahead of Khoksar towards Manali is Gramphu from where a diversion to the left leads to Kaza. During summers rich growth of alpine flowers, beautiful potato fields and numerous water channels spell bound the visitor

SISSU :-

This village is situated on the right bank of the river Chandra at an altitude of 3130m. The village is located on a broad flat ground above the Chandra river. Good plantations of willows and poplars on both sides of the road are so dense during summers that at places even the sun rays fail to penetrate. The terraces are green with potato, peas, barley and buck wheat. Wild roses of white, yellow and red hues with expanses of alpine flowers deck the slopes in an unforgettable feast of colours.

GONDHLA

The village is situated at a distance of 18 kms from Keylong, the district headquarters along the right bank of the river Chandra. Situated at an altitude of 3160 m. on a fairly level expanse of land this hamlet. House of the Thakur of Gondhla, called the Gondhla castle or fort, attracts a large number of tourists. The Present Thakur Fateh Chand would like the tourists to believe the Fort is about 20 generations old, but according to the District Gazateer of Lahaul and Spiti the fort was built in 1700 A.D. by Raja Man Singh of Kullu whose influence stretched upto the Lingti plains beyond the Baralacha-la.

The castle is an example of the indigenous timber bonded stone style of the Western Himalayas consisting of alternate courses of stone and wooden beams and cemented together with wet clay. This seven storey high edifice is topped by a wooden verandah which runs round the upper storey. This is some thing like the Swiss Chalet. The staircases in the building are partially notched wooden logs. The building has many apartments which can comfortably accommodate more than 100 people.

  

KEYLONG :-

Keylong is the district head quarters of Lahaul and Spiti. At an altitude of 3156 m. Keylong is situated on the main trade route between the Rohtang and Baralacha passes above the Bhaga river. Most of the government offices are located at Keylong.Three of the best known monasteries Tayul, Kardang and Sha-Shur are within a few kms. from this village. Tourists may also like to visit the temple of the local deity Kelang Wazir in the house of one Sh. Nawang Dorje

What is travelling ?

Travel means discovery, challenge, and new experiences. But a journey of discovery is only successful if it does not destroy what it discovers. Travelers need to educate themselves to minimize their impact on the local environment, infrastructure, people, and culture. An ethics of travel should be concerned not only with the economic impact of travel, but also with how visitors impact the cultures of their host countries.

In a sense, tourism is a Pandora’s box. While travel as a way to promote peace, mutual understanding, and friendship between the people of different cultures, it also promotes economic inequalities and cultural and environmental degradation.

Much of travel today is about consumption-the consumption of foreign places, cultures, and people. The colorful locals are often objects of curiosity and visual consumption, part of an exotic Arcadia to be admired and photographed. The interactions between the visitor and the local people often do not go beyond the exchanges of seller-buyer and provider-consumer.

We do not just visit cities, mountains, museums, and beaches. We visit the people. They have a right to privacy and to a way of life that is not shaped by outside forces such as international tourism. The best way to learn to respect the locals is to meet and get to know them. It is in the interactions and encounters between the host and the visitor that an ethics of travel begins. Traditional patterns of hospitality are based on reciprocity. Where friendship and understanding develop, the traditional relationships of seller-buyer and provider-consumer are transformed. More than consuming places and people, travel is an opportunity to break out of our patterns of familiarity and gain insights into the cultures that make up the diversity and complexity of the human race. The more travel becomes a journey of discovery and shared experiences, the less host countries will suffer from the excesses of a leisure-oriented tourism industry.

There are certain rights and obligations which travellers should maintain:-

Although travelers certainly have rights in foreign countries, we have obligations as well. If we appreciate and respect the cultural, economic, and social integrity of our travel destination, we will want to help it by choosing a low-impact and non-intrusive ways of travel-to give preference to small, locally-owned operations that are sensitive to the ecosystem and local culture. It is also important to interact with the local people in their authentic cultural context and ignore the stereotypes of tourist brochures and the glossy travel press. Travelers should also look at favorite tourist activities such as picture-taking and souvenir-buying in the context of their impact on their host country and its people. The local infrastructure should be used moderately, without drastically increasing demands, and travelers should consider buying products that are characteristic of the local culture and tradition, not those that are a byproduct of the tourism industry.

Can we make a difference :- Yes we can !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is no way to turn back the clock to the days before jet travel, when only a few people ventured to foreign countries. The tourist industry will continue to grow. Distant locations and people will continue to be exploited as travel destinations. We all leave footprints in the places we travel, but we can learn to minimize them and reduce their impact. We can also set examples for others by following our own ethics of travel. An increasing number of travel businesses have recognized that responsible, ethical, and respectful travel is in fact the only solution for the preservation of our travel destinations and the future of travel.